Adopting a smarter, more open and consumer-first approach to data access could unlock an extra £500m in revenue for the rail industry, argues Raileasy CEO George Sikking.
UK: Rail has a £500m opportunity within its grasp — 65% of potential rail travellers check train fares, but then explore alternatives. They are either choosing a different mode of transport, or spending additional time and effort searching for more affordable fares or journey options. And they should not have to.
Travellers have no easy way of discovering cheaper or less busy trains. This is not a pricing problem, it is an information problem, with third-party retailers not having full access to an Availability Distribution Service that could provide information on all available seats on all available trains.
I am urging the rail industry to make ADS available to all retailers; writing not just as the CEO of a ticket retailer, but as a long-time believer in what the UK rail system could be.
I have been championing cheaper train travel since 2007. Raileasy is a family owned and run company, and sold 3 million tickets in 2024. Yet millions of people still avoid trains. I believe the answer lies in a smarter, more open and consumer-first approach to data access.
This is not about asking for subsidies or discounts. It is about unlocking existing value that is currently hidden in a fragmented, outdated system where travellers cannot easily view the full range of fare options across a week or month, the way they can with flights.
With airline-style calendar views, passengers could instantly see the cheapest and quietest times to travel.
Research we commissioned from Jacobs shows that this change alone could unlock £500m in incremental revenue for UK rail. Not to mention the societal wins: increased domestic tourism, lower carbon emissions and a shift away from car travel.
This is a low-cost, high-impact fix that would make rail work better for the people it serves.
Our call is backed by the Independent Rail Retailers association, and it is already starting to take shape through our work on features like the Daytripper platform on Realtime Trains. But to truly scale this change we need full industry collaboration.
We’re a proven partner to the rail industry. We are here to help, and to start the conversation. Yet we are struggling to be heard by the industry.
Let me be clear: restricting access to fare and availability data benefits nobody. Not passengers. Not operators. Not taxpayers. Not the future of UK rail.
